Yo-kai Watch (video game)
| designer = Tatsuya Shinkai | genre = | platform = Nintendo 3DS Yo-kai Watch Smartphone official websiteYo-kai Watch for Smartphone Gets Delayed To 2017 For Work On Major Improvements | release = | ratings = | website = Official Japanese website Official Japanese smartphone website Official North American website Official Australian/New Zealand website Official South Korean website | predecessor = | successor = Yo-kai Watch 2 |logo = }} is a role-playing video game that was developed by Level-5, and the first to be released in the Yo-kai Watch video game series. It was released for the Nintendo 3DS on July 11, 2013 in Japan, November 6, 2015 in North America, April 29, 2016 in Europe, December 5, 2015 in Australia and November 26, 2015 in South Korea. The game involves looking for Yo-kai, spiritual creatures responsible for unexpected everyday occurrences, and befriending them via battles. Yo-kai can only be found with the Yo-kai Watch. During LEVEL-5 Vision 2016, it was announced that the game will be released for Android and iOS devices as Yo-kai Watch for Smartphone, with a new control system and improved graphics, which was later delayed to 2019 but has since been removed from any release schedule. There's also scheduled to be a enhanced port of the game for the Nintendo Switch called ''Yo-kai Watch 1 for Nintendo Switch. Blurb Weird and wonderful Yo-kai are everywhere! Befriend over 200 different Yo-kai, all with their own unique personalities! Use your Yo-kai Watch to find Yo-kai troublemakers around town. Strategize your attacks wisely... to unleash powerful Soultimate Moves! Download items via the Internet and challenge friends to local wireless battles! Snap pics of Yo-kai hiding out in the real world with your in-game Yo-kai Cam! Plot The player can choose whether they want to play as Nate Adams or Katie Forester. The differences are only based on aesthetic. During a bug-collecting assignment assigned to students by a school in suburban Springdale, Nate Adams is jealous of classmate Barnaby "Bear" Berenstein's large stag beetle he caught, and decides to find another bug to rival him. Upon being prompted by the school's janitor to visit Mount Wildwood, Nate discovers an unusual capsule machine. He decides to take a capsule from it, and upon opening the capsule, frees a strange ghostly being. The being introduces himself as Whisper, and states that he is what is known as a Yo-kai. He gives Nate the Yo-kai Watch, a device used to find Yo-kai, and prompts Nate to use it. After Nate befriends two additional Yo-kai, Whisper further explains that Yo-kai are as abundant as humans; the only reason Nate could not comprehend them before being that they blend into their surroundings. Nate returns home with Whisper in tow, only to find that Nate's parents, Lily and Aaron Adams, are bickering over whether Aaron should fix dinner, and find that Dismeralda is the cause. She refuses to leave, but Nate and Whisper head to an intersection and find Jibanyan, who immediately joins them to fight Dismeralda. She is defeated, but her husband, Happiere, calls off the battle and makes up with Dismeralda. He also inspirits Lily and Aaron to allow them to make up, thus ending the conflict. The following day, Nate visits Katie to find her upset over the fact that she said things she never intended to say to her friend, causing the latter to shut down. Realizing that a Yo-kai is responsible, Nate finds Tattletell, and after befriending her, asks her to inspirit Katie once more to allow her to reconcile with her friend. With the issue resolved, Tattletell reveals why she inspirited Katie in the first place: a group of evil Yo-kai led by Slimamander had broken many seals, thus disrupting the link between the human and Yo-kai realms. With the help of the other Yo-kai thus far, Nate and Whisper defeat all of the evil Yo-kai and roll back the damage caused to the seals. Realizing how tough Slimamander was, Nate and Whisper decide to head to Timers and More, where the shopkeeper, a human-mimicking Yo-kai named Mr. Goodsight, agrees to upgrade Nate's Yo-kai Watch rank, but assigns him two specific tasks to complete beforehand. Nate befriends Baku while completing the first task, who proves the key in commencing out the second task: retrieving Mr. Goodsight's undergarment from the local spa at night. After narrowly evading an Oni attack along the way, they discover that Sproink has stolen the undergarment as a clothing item for himself. A battle ensues, and Nate emerges victorious, thus allowing him to return the undergarments to Mr. Goodsight to complete the watch upgrade. The next day, after Bear uses his mother's ring to catch the "king of Catfish Pond" and inadvertently loses it, Mr. Bernstein berates his son and instructs him to retrieve it. Nate finds out about the ordeal, and he and Whisper decide to head to a riverside to find a kappa Yo-kai named Walkappa. They head to the lake and find the ring, only to disrupt another Yo-kai named SV Snaggerjag. After the ensuing battle, SV Snaggerjag reveals that he is the king of Catfish Pond, and he warned that the group was scaring off the catfish in the area. The ring is returned to Bear's mother, who reveals that it was not as valuable as was initially believed, relieving Nate, Whisper, Bear, and Walkappa. The following morning, Aaron Adams, on his way to work, accidentally leaves behind important documents at Sunshine Station thanks to a Yo-kai named Wazzat. Lily Adams is contacted and asks her son to head to the office so that he can return the documents. Nate and Whisper retrieve the documents and board the train with little trouble; however, they are soon ambushed by Wazzat. The two evade Wazzat long enough to return the documents; on the way back, Wazzat reveals that he was lonely and offers to join Nate, of whom the latter accepts. As thanks for saving his father's job, Nate is given a bike. He rides around Flower Road, only to hear rumors about development in the area. He comes across a Yo-kai named Kyubi, who blackmails him into entering the construction zone at night. Nate and Whisper do so, meeting Komasan along the way. However, they find that Kyubi had been leading them to the real culprit all along: a Yo-kai known as Massiface. Nate and his Yo-kai team manage to defeat Massiface after a long battle, and the rumors stop. Nate then visits Eddie, and the two visit an art museum with Eddie's parents. Though they enjoy the museum, Eddie is distraught that he did not find the exhibit he was looking for. He asks Nate to accompany him in sneaking to the museum at night, which Nate agrees to. After being warped into the museum by a Yo-kai named Mirapo and evading the museum's security protocols, Nate is forced to battle Phantasmurai, a suit of armor that Eddie was trying to observe. Eddie is ridiculed that the suit is controlled by a mouse, but gets over it as he and Nate exit the museum. All of Nate's friends meet up with him at the school to attempt to find a mysterious Yo-kai that had been causing mischief within the school. The Yo-kai abducts all of Nate's friends, and Nate and Whisper are forced to find them, but not before facing the mischievous Yo-kai, revealed to be Tarantutor. After a long battle, Nate is victorious, and joins his friends for a brief fireworks celebration. Whisper, however, becomes suspicious and asks Nate to return to the school to search for more clues. After being directed by Mr. Barton to the abandoned Nocturne Hospital, they find that the building has unusual Yo-kai activity. The source is eventually confirmed to be the evil Dr. Maddiman, of whom Nate is forced to battle. Maddiman is defeated, but not before revealing that he works for Chairman McKraken, a dissident Yo-kai planning to take over the Yo-kai realm and destroy the human realm. Nate and Whisper are uneasy, but are given hope when a classmate of Nate's, Lucas, reveals that he is a Yo-kai himself, having been born from Enma, the true ruler of the Yo-kai realm. Nate and Whisper venture to the Yo-kai realm to seek answers. They encounter McKraken and seemingly defeat him. However, when they return to the human realm, they find that all of the seals are broken once more, McKraken has deployed his minions in the area, and Slimamander is once again awakened. Nate and the others manage to defeat all of McKraken's lackeys and restore the seals, but McKraken, refusing to give up, transforms into a giant beast. After a hard battle, Nate and his Yo-kai team defeat McKraken and banish him from the human realm for good. Whisper, knowing that more evil Yo-kai will attack the human realm, decides to close the elevator linking the two realms together; Nate, finally accepting their fate, reluctantly accepts, and all of the Yo-kai forcibly return to their realm, leaving Nate behind. Nate returns to his house as the credits roll, drawing a picture of his Yo-kai friends to remember them. In a post-credits scene, Nate notices Jibanyan on the edge of his house the following day. To his amazement, all of his Yo-kai friends have restored the elevator, thus able to return to the human realm once more. Gameplay Locations There are six different districts to explore in Springdale, which are Uptown Springdale, Mount Wildwood, Blossom Heights, Downtown Springdale, Breezy Hills and Shopper's Row. Each of them have their own places of interest, Yo-kai Areas, Everymart branches and hidden areas. Progressing through the game will give the player access to more locations as well as specific areas that are locked behind Watch Rank Doors. The player can buy from several shops around the world, which contain Food, Items, and Fusible Materials. Items can also be traded in for some money. Catching Bugs and Fish Bugs and Fish can be caught in the game, when the Bug Net and Fishing Rod Key Items are obtained. Catching them is done by trying to make the wheel stop on the bars, which landing on them catches the bug or fish. Using Fish Bait or Black Syrup increases the chance of it being caught by adding more bars to the wheel. Occasionally, red bars will appear where landing on it will cause a Rare variant of the bug or fish to be caught. They can be traded in Jungle Hunter, where catching specific types of Fish or Bugs allow the player to obtain specific items from them by trading for the required amount. Yo-kai Befriending Yo-kai Battle System Yo-kai Watch has an unique battle system were the Yo-kai fight on their own by using four strategies in battle, which those strategies are Attack, Technique, Guard, and Inspirit. Sometimes the Yo-kai may Loaf around, which if that happens, the player must be patient. If the player wants to help out their respective Yo-kai, they can unleash the Yo-kai Soultimate move; the player has to follow the instructions to fill up their Yo-kai's Soul Meter and unleash their Soultimate Move on the enemy Yo-kai. The player can also pin an Yo-kai, which makes the players Yo-kai focus everyone's attack on one enemy. If the pin hits the enemy, the player Yo-kai friends will target the pinned enemy. Some Yo-kai will Inspirit the player's Yo-kai, which will give them a hard time. Once the Yo-kai is inspirited, they are not able to fight as usual. If the player's Yo-kai is inspirited, they have to turn the Yo-kai Wheel to take out of battle, then the payer has to press Purify, to Purify the inspirited Yo-kai at the right times. If the player succeeds to purify the Yo-kai, they will return to normal and will receive Experience points. If the player's Yo-kai HP is low, they can look their inventory and feed them to recover HP. If the player will give the enemy Yo-kai food, they may end up becoming their friends. However, all Yo-kai have specific likes and dislikes. The player can only give one item to each enemy Yo-kai. The player can also make use of the Yo-kai Wheel, which they have to turn the wheel to change which Yo-kai will fight. The player has to check their enemy and their allies to choose the three best Yo-kai. If the player places Yo-kai of the same tribe, they will form an unity to take advantages in battle. Through Inspiriting, the player can affect other Yo-kai as well, which the Yo-kai can get good effects or bad effects. Know that every Yo-kai has a special skill, which some can reflect attacks and others can heal, they can also make usage of elemental techniques which the Yo-kai can be strong against some elements and weak against others. Crank-a-kai When the player receives Crank-a-kai coins or using Nintendo 3DS Play Coins, they can free a Yo-kai from the Crank-a-kai machine located at Mt. Wildwood. However, the player can make use of it for only three times each day. The player can receive those coins from Yo-kai Cam rewards or from treasure chests. The player can use the QR code at Piggleston Bank to get coins. If lucky, the player might receive a super-rare Yo-kai that can only be freed from the Crank-a-kai machine. Yo-criminals Yo-criminals are Yo-kai who have committed a crime. The player has to catch suspicious Yo-kai when they see them. If the player manages to catch them three times, they will receive one letter of a secret password. However, the player has to pay attention to see is the letter is capitalised or not. The player can also share notes with their friends to complete the passwords. Once receiving the passwords, the player can go to the second post office window in Uptown Springdale. The player has to ask Detective Holdit about the deadline for catching specific crimals. Yo-kai Cam With the Yo-kai Cam, the player can use the camera to detect Yo-kai. The player has to select Yo-kai Cam from the title menu in order to use it. They should take a photo of their frieds or family to see which Yo-kai Inspirits them. The player will receive rewards for snapping Yo-kai pictures and completing daily challenges. Development The game was first announced in the Japanese magazine which Level-5 revealed the game was in development. On October 14, 2011, Level-5 announced a new game at their Level-5 Vision conference in Tokyo, and the title was revealed as Youkai Watch. Level-5 didn't say on which platform the game shall be released, but they explained that it would be a multimedia project like other franchises developed by the company. An animated trailer with some gameplay was released, showing a character with the ability to see and interact with ghosts. On October 14, 2011, screenshots of the game has been revealed as well the screenshots of the anime of the series. October 13, 2012, Level-5 revealed that the game would be released for the Nintendo 3DS in a issue of the Japanese magazine CoroCoro. Level-5 revealed the character as an 11-year old boy named Nathan Adams, which is also the main character of the game. Whisper and Jibanyan join Nathan and his watch helps him to find Yo-kai when he looks around town. It has revealed that some Yo-kai are friendly, while others are causing a ruckus in town and it's up to Nathan to defeat them with a party of three Yo-kai. They then revealed that the game takes place in a regular town named Springdale, and also revealed three other characters that are as well in the game. Katie, Eddie and Bear are all three of Nathan's friends as well as his classmates. They revealed that Whisper is a ghost-like Yo-kai butler, Tattletell is mostly seen stuck on a human's face and Walkappa is a Yo-kai that loves water. Western Localisation In April 2015, Level-5 announced that would handle the localization of the game in the west. At the of 2015, Nintendo revealed the game by showing a segment of the dubbed anime with a release for the Fall season of that year. Editions GameStop Preorder By pre-ordering the game at GameStop in the United States, they would get a Jibanyan Paws Of Fury Medal which would allow connectivity with the game, as well as the toy. Nintendo of America revealed that there will be a Nintendo 2DS bundle containing the game with the cost of only $99,99. In Australia and New Zealand, the games will be bundled with the Nintendo 2DS on its release on December 5th with a cost of $169.95.Nintendo AU/NZ official Twitter Feed Bundles The game has been released in a Nintendo 3DS bundle. In Japan, the game was packaged with a unique white Yo-kai-patterned Nintendo 3DS XL containing the game pre-installed and an exclusive Ukiukipedia card of Goldenyan. In other regions, the game was packaged digitally with a Nintendo 2DS. The available colours vary depending on the region, but like the original Japanese release, the game is installed digitally. Technical details Japan North America Version history Japan North America Europe Promotion When the game was released in North America, there was a launch party at the at the in the Rockefeller Center from 11:00 am until 2:00 pm. People that attended the event met Akihiro Hino, the president of Level-5, as well getting an autograph from him from 1:00pm to 2:00pm. Yo-kai Watch Original Soundtrack A soundtrack containing the songs from this game and the sequel, along with some additional tracks from the anime series was released in Japan on December 17, 2014. It contains a total of 132 songs, along with 3 music videos spanning across 4 discs. Rereleases It was announced in 2016 that there will be a port of the game for iOS and Android devices called , with a slated release for sometime in 2019. The game itself takes advantage of phone's touch screen capabilities like the 3DS counterpart. On July 29, 2019, there will be another port coming for the Nintendo Switch called ''Yo-kai Watch 1 for Nintendo Switch. It will have enhanced graphics, reworked controls and several other new features. Sales Yo-kai Watch sold a total of 1.33 million copies in Japan. Since its release in North America and Europe, the game sold a total of 1.58 million copies. Reception Famitsu gave Yo-kai Watch a score of 36 of 40. Japanese reviewer Reona Ebihara wrote "The game gradually expands its feature set as you go, opening up this very unique world that's easy to melt into." as well "The 3D visuals work great, serving especially well to put you right there as you're searching for spirits in the grass. The battles proceed automatically but let you change formations and offer support in real-time, keeping things both simple and deeply strategic." Japanese writer Urara Honma added "The game balances collection, battle, and monster-raising in a really expert manner." as well "The battles use the touchscreen deftly to boost their strategic aspects; it feels really great to control. You won't run into much frustration playing this game, and while it does feel like one big fetch quest at times, the charms of the story more than make up for that. IGN gave Yo-kai Watch a 7.2 out of 10, praising the characteristics of the Yo-kai and the storyline of the game, but was criticised for the tedious amount of side-Quests. Demo Demo release The game has an official demo in the that can be downloaded as of July 3, 2013, in Japan. When the game was localized in the west, the demo was released on October 22, 2015, in North America.Try The Yo-kai Watch Demo Next Week The demo was released in Australia and New Zealand on November 27, 2015.Australia/New Zealand Nintendo website On March 4, 2016, the demo was released in Europe after the Nintendo Direct presentation. Demo plot The game starts when Whisper tells Nathan to go outside and find some Yo-kai's. Once outside, a young girl comes to Nathan and asks him for his help. After negotiating with Whisper, Nathan agrees to help the young girl out. She tells Nathan that three Yo-kai's were causing trouble and revealed were the two are, but tells Nathan that he has to discover on his own were the third one is. After finding all three Yo-kai's, it is revealed that the young girl is in fact Dismarelda, which shocked both Nathan and Whisper. Nathan challenges Dismarelda, but loses, revealing that Nathan has to befriend many Yo-kai's. After that, the demo ends. Gallery Screenshots Miscellaneous Game covers Video Gallery Japanese videos File:【TVCM】『妖怪ウォッチ』妖怪ワールド篇|Yo-kai Watch television commercial #1. File:【PV】『妖怪ウォッチ』|Yo-kai Watch promotional video #1. File:【プレイ動画】『妖怪ウォッチ』|Yo-kai Watch gameplay video. File:【妖怪ウォッチ】「教えて！ウィスパー」その1 妖怪が見えるようになった理由|Yo-kai Watch gameplay video #1. File:【妖怪ウォッチ】「教えて！ウィスパー」その2 妖怪の見つけ方|Yo-kai Watch gameplay video #2. File:【妖怪ウォッチ】「教えて！ウィスパー」その3 妖怪とのバトル|Yo-kai Watch gameplay video #3. File:【妖怪ウォッチ】「教えて！ウィスパー」その4 さくらニュータウンを大冒険|Yo-kai Watch gameplay video #4. File:【TVCM】『妖怪ウォッチ』クエスト篇|Yo-kai Watch television commercial #2 (Quest). File:【TVCM】『妖怪ウォッチ』ウォッチ篇|Yo-kai Watch television commercial #2 (Watch). File:【TVCM】『妖怪ウォッチ』バトル篇|Yo-kai Watch television commercial #3 (Battle). File:【PV】『妖怪ウォッチ』PV3-1|Yo-kai Watch promotional video #2. Yo-kai Watch for Smartphone File:【プレイ映像】『妖怪ウォッチforスマートフォン』|Yo-kai Watch for Smartphone gameplay footage. North America videos File:Nintendo 3DS - YO-KAI WATCH E3 2015 Trailer|Yo-kai Watch E3 trailer. File:Nintendo Treehouse Live @ E3 2015 Day 1 YO-KAI WATCH|Yo-kai Watch E3 Nintendo Treehouse gameplay footage. File:YO-KAI WATCH Gameplay Trailer|Yo-kai Watch Gameplay footage. File:YO-KAI WATCH Launch Trailer|Yo-kai Watch launch trailer. File:YO-KAI WATCH Three Steps Overview Trailer|Yo-kai Watch Three Steps Overview Trailer. File:YO-KAI WATCH – The Very Important Meeting Part 1-0|Yo-kai Watch - The Very Important Meeting (Part 1). File:YO-KAI WATCH - The Very Important Meeting Part 2|Yo-kai Watch - The Very Important Meeting (Part 2). File:YO-KAI WATCH – The Very Important Meeting Part 3|Yo-kai Watch - The Very Important Meeting (Part 3). File:Nintendo 3DS - YO-KAI WATCH TV Commercial|Yo-kai Watch NA TV Commercial. File:Nintendo 3DS - YO-KAI WATCH In Your Face TV Commercial|Yo-kai Watch NA TV Commercial #2. European videos File:YO-KAI WATCH - Nintendo Direct Footage (Nintendo 3DS)-0|Nintendo of Europe Direct video footage (UK version). File:YO-KAI WATCH - ¡Baila YO-KAI WATCH! (Nintendo 3DS)|Nintendo of Europe Direct video footage (ES version). Trivia * In StreetPass Mii Plaza, there's a Yo-kai Watch-themed Puzzle Swap that was distributed in North America, Europe and Korea since 2015. It's based around the main artwork for the video game. * The video game has some differences and inconsistencies when compared to the later entries or the ''Yo-kai Watch'' anime series, such as Nate's earlier design of the Yo-kai Watch, Jibanyan's liking of Tuna rather than Chocobars and some areas having minor layout changes. * The cover art differs from the original cover art. The one closest to the original cover art is that of North America, South Korea and Australia, while Europe has a very different cover art compared to the four. * This is the only main series game to lack a theme song in the Japanese and Korean versions, only having an opening video of Nate using the Crank-a-kai. The western releases keep this video but adds in Yo-kai Watch feat. Swampy Marsh (and other dubs of the song) after it, with a montage of gameplay clips. * This is the only main series game to not have any tie-ins with any of the Yo-kai Watch movies, due to them not existing at the time of it's Japanese release. External links * Official Japanese website * Official North American website * Official Australian website * Official South Korean website References fr:Yo-kai Watch (Jeu) de:Yo-kai Watch (Spiel) Yo-kai Watch (video game) Category:Main series video games Category:Nintendo 3DS games